McGuire v New Zealand Law Society

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI MANA NUI

SC 50/2018
[2018] NZSC 93

BETWEEN	JEREMY JAMES McGUIRE Applicant
AND	NEW ZEALAND LAW SOCIETY Respondent

Court:	Elias CJ, Glazebrook and Ellen France JJ
Counsel:	Applicant in person P N Collins for Respondent
Judgment:	11 October 2018

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B Costs of $2,500 are awarded to the respondent.

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REASONS

Mr McGuire seeks leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of 6 June 2018[1] dismissing an appeal against a decision of the High Court,[2] and an application to adduce further evidence.
[1]McGuire v New Zealand Law Society [2018] NZCA 184 (French, Ellis and Woolford JJ).
[2]McGuire v New Zealand Law Society [2017] NZHC 2484 (Courtney J).
In the High Court, Courtney J had allowed, but only in part, Mr McGuire’s application for judicial review of a decision of the Canterbury Westland Standards Committee. The Committee had upheld a complaint made by a client of Mr McGuire’s and found him guilty of “unsatisfactory conduct” pursuant to s 152(2)(b) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006.
The matters Mr McGuire seeks to raise are all related to the particular factual circumstances of the case and do not raise any issues of general or public importance. Nor does anything raised by Mr McGuire suggest that the Court of Appeal’s decision may have been erroneous.
This means the application for leave to appeal must be dismissed, with costs of $2,500 awarded to the respondent.

Solicitors:
C L Walker, New Zealand Law Society, Wellington for Respondent

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Jeremy James McGuire, sought leave to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing his appeal against a High Court decision. The High Court had partly allowed an application for judicial review of a decision of the Canterbury Westland Standards Committee, which had found McGuire guilty of unsatisfactory conduct. The Court of Appeal had dismissed McGuire's appeal on 6 June 2018 and McGuire now sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Additionally, he applied to adduce further evidence. The Court was required to determine whether the application for leave to appeal raised issues of general or public importance, or if there was any suggestion that the Court of Appeal’s decision may have been erroneous. The Court needed to decide if the appeal should be dismissed or allowed.

The Supreme Court held that the matters McGuire sought to raise were related to the particular factual circumstances of the case and did not raise issues of general or public importance. Furthermore, nothing raised by McGuire suggested that the Court of Appeal’s decision might have been erroneous. Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed. The Court awarded costs of $2,500 to the respondent, the New Zealand Law Society.

McGuire's application for leave to appeal was dismissed and the Court awarded costs of $2,500 to the New Zealand Law Society. This decision was based on the Court's finding that the issues raised were specific to the case's factual circumstances and did not encompass matters of general or public importance. Additionally, there was no indication that the Court of Appeal's decision was erroneous.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established